"I know he wants to play, but it's my job as a coach to make sure that he's ready for us — not only tonight but, hopefully, the rest of the year. So it's just a judgment call, and hopefully it pays off for us the rest of the year."

Nelson could be in the Magic's starting lineup when the team faces the Detroit Pistons on Friday night in Auburn Hills, Mich.

Harrington update

Al Harrington met with his knee surgeon in Vail, Colo., on Tuesday for a checkup on his right knee, which was beset by a staph infection after offseason surgery to repair torn cartilage.

Although Harrington's visit went well, he has not been cleared yet for on-court basketball activities and will continue with his rehabilitation regimen.

All-Star snubs

After drawing some motivation from gloomy preseason predictions, the Magic now have another reason to have chips on their shoulders.

The 2013 All-Star Game ballot, which was released Tuesday, features just three Magic players: Arron Afflalo, Glen Davis and Harrington.

Nelson is not listed among the 24 guards on the Eastern Conference ballot, while Hedo Turkoglu isn't included among the 36 frontcourt players on the conference's ballot.

"It's fun to see and fun to see those guys still playing, and I'm always rooting for them," Vaughn said.

Vaughn said Kidd will have opportunities to coach if Kidd ultimately wants to go into coaching. Vaughn called Kidd "one of the smartest players I've ever played with and been around."

Bo on board

A former Magic player has spent some time around practices in recent months.

Bo Outlaw, one of the team's two community ambassadors, served as an assistant coach for the Magic's summer league team and now volunteers at Magic practices.

"Bo brings Bo," Vaughn said. "He is great for our bigs. He helps us. [He has] great energy every day. He's fun to be around. He helped coach summer league, and he was here when I got on board, just helping. We talked to each other, and I told him I'd love for him to be around. He's just a great person to be around. He can help our guys.

"I loved him as a player," Vaughn added. "He was extremely team-oriented. I think he got the most out of his abilities. He was a team-first guy, and he was about playing hard and about winning."